high heels, high hopes
by the-ballad-of-a-dove
Summary: Moving to a new town is hard enough. Moving to Westchester, New York, however, could be a nightmare. But for Evangeline Connors...maybe not.
1. Chapter 1

**I was sick and bored, so I decided to make up a new story. As always, I have no idea whether this will continue on or when I'll be able to update. I hope you like this anyways.**

**Also, I apologize in advance for the awkward switch of present to past tense after the first little section, I know it's not grammatically correct, but I don't feel like fixing it haha. **

I begin panicking the moment I wake up.

It's 5:15 a.m. on a Tuesday. The weather forecast for the day is warm, averaging around 74 degrees, and the sky will be clear. At least that's what the weatherman on the radio says. That same radio is blaring, screaming at me to get out of bed. Today is the first day of school. The first day of tenth grade, for me, at a whole new school. Lovely.

I'll be going to Briarwood Octavian Country Day, a snooty private school, filled with equally snooty sixth through twelfth grade Westchester boys and girls. I'd been excited to move and transform myself into someone new, someone who fit in. But how the hell was I going to make myself fit in here in Westchester, New York, land of the rich, beautiful, and _perfect_?

I was only here because my dad got a promotion, forcing us to move from a nice, small town in Delaware up to this ostentatious town. I'd been dragged away from the friends I'd had since I was little and the only home I'd ever known.

I forced myself to sit up and turn off my alarm, groaning reluctantly the whole time. I rolled out of bed, nearly tripping over my new kitten, which had been an 'I'm sorry for ruining your whole life and moving you away from everything you love' present. I reached down to scratch her ears and walked across the hall to my own personal bathroom to take a shower.

I let myself stand under the warm water and stress about how awful my first day could turn out for about fifteen minutes before turning off the water and stepping out, no more prepared than before. I went back into my room to change into an outfit I'd chosen over a span of two weeks, after several trips to the mall to buy new clothes and examine what the other girls wore. Their clothes were five times fancier, more expensive, and more uncomfortable than what we would wear in Delaware.

I slipped into my clothes and looked into my full-length mirror. I looked vulnerable, like a little puppy, with my bare feet and still-damp hair. I could _not_ look so childish on my first day of school here. So I stalked determinedly back to the bathroom, where I pulled out my new blow-dryer and curling iron and set myself to work.

A good half an hour later, my hair looked pretty amazing, considering that I'd done it all by myself. My long, auburn hair fell in soft waves down my back, my long bangs pinned back with a red flower clip.

My face was still bare, so I pulled out my also-new make-up bag. I tried to remember what the lady at the make-up counter had done as I swept a little foundation onto my skin, following it with smoky blue and gray eyeshadow and stark black mascara and eyeliner for my eyes. I rubbed on my favorite Baby Lips chapstick and a layer of nude lip-gloss from MAC.

I then walked back into my room to look at myself in my mirror again, slipping on my too high to be comfortable navy blue pumps before. My freshly glossed lips hung apart for a few moments as I took myself in. I'd never seen myself as particularly ugly, but I'd never thought I was pretty before until just now. My legs looked extra long and lean with the help of the heels, and my cream-colored lace skirt hung just perfectly on my hips. I wore a glittery silver tank under a gorgeous off-the-shoulder blue and white striped top that my mom had ordered from Europe. I'd been so nervous before, but know that I saw myself all put together, it faded into oblivion. I was starting to see the possibilities.

I put in a pair of red rose-shaped studs and slid on my Pandora charm bracelet that I refused to leave the house without. I grabbed my ASPCA tote bag, another thing I had on me at all times, and filled it with back-up makeup, notebooks, pens, and mints. It should have looked out of place with my fancy outfit, but for some reason, it fit.

I stepped carefully down the expensive, glossy wood steps, making satisfying clicking sounds with my heels. My parents were already sitting in the kitchen, my four year old sister making a pouty face at the table.

My mom tore her eyes away from the magazine she was reading just long enough to glance at me. "Oh, Evangeline! You look gorgeous!"

I smiled tightly. "Thanks, mom." My dad was too busy emailing someone on his cell phone. I looked over at Cassie, my sister, and made a silly face at her. "Why so sad, Cass?"

"I'm _hungry_!" She said, frowning. "And I can't reach the Coco Puffs! Or the milk!"

I found myself frowning as well. "Mom, dad, she hasn't eaten yet?"

My dad looked up for a moment. "Couldn't you do it, hun? We're a little busy."

I widened my eyes. Yeah, my mom looked _real_ busy reading her celebrity gossip magazine. It took me a few minutes to find the bowls in the new kitchen, but I pulled two out and filled them both with Coco Puffs and milk. I carried them over to the kitchen table and sat down next to Cassie, dipping my spoon in my bowl and taking a bite of my cereal.

"Thanks Leenie!" She cried, stuffing a heaping spoonful of the sugary cereal into her mouth as well. With her mouth still full, she said, "You look like a model."

I smiled and poked her nose. "Yuck, don't talk with your mouth full. But thank you." I watched as my dad got up and left the house, not even bothering to say goodbye. "Are you excited for Pre-K, Cassie?"

She grinned. "Yeah! I've got all of these new dresses to wear, and I already met my teacher. She seems sooo cool!"

I smiled and let her jabber on about how great Preschool would be, thinking to myself that 10th grade might be just as great. Once we were finished eating, I slid our empty bowls into the sink and ran upstairs to brush my teeth one more time and reapply my lip-gloss. My mom told me that a driver was waiting outside to take me to school, so I said goodbye and kissed Cassie on the head before walking out the front door, suddenly so excited I could burst.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I'm still sick, so I had time to write Chapter 2. I may re-write Chapter 1 at some point as well, because it wasn't very good, I think. In this chapter, Evangeline will be meeting -**_**gasp**_**- The Pretty Committee. I guess you'll see how it goes!**

**Just a note: I'll be using a lot of characters from the books, but I'll probably add in some random people I make up as well.**

**One last thing - I changed the title (a few times, actually) in the past hour. Do you like this one (**_**high heels, high hopes**_**)? Let me know, please! **

A sleek black Range Rover is waiting for me outside, and a man is leaning against it. He jumped up when he saw me, rushing to pull open the door to the back seat. "Good morning, Miss Connors," He said in a solemn, professional tone.

I walked to the car, feeling like some sort of famous person. I mean, my own driver? I could never have imagined having my own personal driver to take me to school in a Range Rover, and address me as _Miss Connors_. I usually would have felt uncomfortable with this, but for some reason, it made a rush of energy shoot through me. "Thank you," I said as I stepped into the car. I settled down in the roomy, tan leather clad backseat. The backseat was equipped with a television, radio controls, and a mini-fridge.

I pulled out my cell-phone and snapped a picture, sending it to my best friend from Delaware, Macy. Along with the picture, I typed _'there's a freaking mini-fridge in my car!'_

I turned on the radio and turned the dial to find a good station. I stopped on a station playing some sort of upbeat song and sat back, enjoying the new-car smell and a bottle of lemonade I'd found in the mini-fridge. I bobbed my head to the music and watched the perfect trees and million-dollar homes pass by. I tried to imagine what my first day would be like. I'd been so nervous before, to the point of crying in my room and begging my parents to take me back to our old home. Now, however, I felt like this could turn out to be great. I felt confident that I looked the way that a Westchester girl should look, if not better, and I was excited to remake myself here.

In my old little town, you knew everyone you saw. You knew the name of the dog that lived a few blocks away, and you knew that he loved French fries and would stop by to feed him a few whenever you got McDonalds. There, everyone knew me as Leenie, a tomboy who loved to play tackle football with the boys and wouldn't be caught dead in heels. The most exciting thing that happened all year was the Fourth of July party in the town park. Although I'd loved how close everyone was and was comforted knowing that so many people had my back, I'd been sort of…bored.

And now was my chance to reinvent myself. I had a feeling that making a name for myself here would be difficult, but I was up for the challenge.

"We're here, Miss Connors."

I looked up, my driver's voice waking me up from my thoughts. "Oh, okay." I murmured, reaching into my bag to swipe on a quick layer of lipgloss.

"You'll be going into the Upper Building, over there," He said, pointing over at the larger of the two buildings that were BOCD.

I nodded, "Alright, thanks."

I won't lie; a twinge of nervousness did hit me as I opened up the car door and stepped out onto the pavement, but once I settled my bag onto my shoulder and started walking, not wavering in my high heels, thanks to weeks of practice, all I felt was confident and excited. I stalked towards the Upper Building and felt eyes on me. Everyone was probably wondering who I was, and I didn't mind.

As I reached the door to my building, I came to a halt. Standing in front of the door were five girls, all huddled together and whispering, but still taking up so much space I couldn't get past them. "Excuse me," I said politely, adjusting myself so that I was standing up straight.

One of the girls, who was Hispanic-looking and busty, looked up at me and scoffed, "Um, we're in the middle of a major gossip-sesh, get lost." Another of the girls, the one with caramel colored hair and sharp amber eyes, shot her a look that screamed 'did I say you could talk?' I gathered from that that she was the leader of the group, or whatever you wanted to call it.

I raised an eyebrow and shifted my weight, leaning into my hip and mentally calculating my answer. I didn't want to sound like I was willing to be walked all over, but I didn't want to sound too hostile. "Of course, first-day gossip is totally important, I get it, but I kind of need to get inside, if you don't mind." I turned up the corners of my mouth slightly in a semi-sarcastic smile. I was happily surprised to hear how even my voice came out talking to these Westchester girls.

Leader-girl copied my wry smile and clucked her tongue. "If you must," She said in a bored voice, "Alicia, move."

The bitchy Hispanic girl, Alicia, I assumed, rolled her eyes and moved out of my way so that I could get past her.

"Thanks, girls," I trilled as I swept past them, striding into the building.

I was instantly attacked by a cloud of cologne and perfume. I held in a sneeze as I walked down the first hallway. I tried not to look at specific people as I walked, so I took in the inside of the building itself. To be honest, it looked like a freaking museum or something. I'd studied the student manual and maps of the school a million times, so I didn't have much trouble finding my locker. I didn't have much to put in it, but I organized a few notebooks and pens on the top shelf and stuck a magnetic mirror to the locker door. I casually looked in the mirror to check my hair and makeup and was glad to find it all in place. I shut the locker door and strolled off to my homeroom. All of the eyes still following me made me think, _Wow, this will never get old!_

I found a seat in my homeroom off towards the back, next to a boy with shaggy blonde hair. I could feel him looking at me, but I ignored it and tapped the shoulder of the girl sitting in front of me. When she turned around, I was surprised to see that she was absolutely gorgeous. She had wavy blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and smiled genuinely at me. "Hi! Are you new here or something?" She suddenly lowered her voice and asked, "Or did you get plastic surgery over the summer? 'Cause I don't recognize you."

I laughed slightly and replied, "I'm just new here. My name's Evangeline."

She smiled again. "Oh, cool beans! I'm Olivia. Cute outfit by the way."

By the way she talked, I had a feeling she was a bit of an airhead, but I didn't mind. "Thanks, and nice to meet you. I wanted to ask you something; I ran into a group of girls when I was trying to get into the building-"

"The Pretty Committee?" Olivia asked, cutting me off.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Um, I don't know, there were a couple of blondes, a red-headed girl, some girl named Alicia, and-"

Olivia interrupted me again, placing her hand on my desk. "Yep, that's the Pretty Committee. Massie's their leader, Alicia's her second, and Dylan, Kristen, and Claire are the others. They like, practically run BOCD. I mean, at least all the underclassmen, because they're only sophomores like us."

"Really?" I said, forcing myself not to bite my lip. So I'd had a run-in with the most popular girls in our grade, if not in the school. _Great._

"Did you get away from them okay? They can be vicious."

I nodded at the pretty blonde. "Yeah, I got inside alright. That Alicia girl gave me some trouble though."

Olivia shook her head and clucked her tongue. "I used to be sorta friends with her. I tried _so_ hard to make her and her friends like me, but they can be so mean."

"I can imagine." I sighed and sat back, crossing my legs. My homeroom teacher walked into the room, looking disheveled, and began taking attendance and handing out our schedules.

Olivia grabbed my schedule as soon as it reached my hands, and formed a pout with her peach-lipglossed lips. "Aww, you're like, a genius! You're in my art class and my lunch period though."

I took the time to smile at her as she gave me my schedule, more glad than I let on about having her in a couple of my classes. Sure, she seemed like a ditz, but she was nice enough and at least she was _someone_ I knew. I scanned over the piece of paper, reading _Honors Chemistry, AP US History I, Honors German, Gym, Lunch, AP English, Honors Geometry, _and _Art II_. I wasn't surprised to see that I qualified for upper-level classes, considering that I'd gotten straight As practically since birth, but I internally worried that this might categorize me as a nerd.

As the bell rang, Olivia smiled at me and promised to stop by my locker before lunch so that we could walk there together. I said goodbye and started out of the classroom, but was stopped by that shaggy-haired boy before I could leave.

"Hey, so, you're Evangeline?" He said, his hands in his pockets.

I settled my bag on my shoulder and nodded. "Yep, that's me."

He smiled crookedly. "I'm Derrick. Where are you headed?" I showed him my schedule and he grinned. "Honors Chem., me too. I'll walk with you, I mean, if you want."

I was slightly surprised, but simply replied, "Sounds good."

**Sorry this story is kind of going by super slow, but the first day is important! Haha I'll try to make the next chapter more exciting.**

**-dove**


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